Back to the economic development drawing board with Moss Point's IP site

Jackson County officials are still reeling from the punch to the gut Mississippi Gasification has delivered.

No $2 billion plant on the former International Paper Co. site.

No 175 full-time jobs.

No tax dollars that could have helped transform Moss Point and its schools.

After nearly 5 years of intense courtship, it feels like we have been jilted at the altar.

Mississippi Gasification, a subsidiary of New York-based Leucadia National Corp., originally announced its big plans in December 2008 to build the cutting-edge plant designed to turn refining byproduct petcoke into substitute natural gas.

The land was lease optioned, with those payments generating some revenue for the port and the school system.

Eventually, the product slate switched from SNG to methanol. Lease option extensions ensued that contained stringent milestones to ensure the company's commitment to the project and the property. A deal couldn't be reached on the latest attempt at a lease extension, effectively killing the project here.

Company officials say they will continue the project at an "alternative site."

For leaders with the Jackson County Economic Development Foundation and the Port of Pascagoula, it's back to the drawing board to find a suitor for the prime industrial spot with access and amenities attractive to a broad range of companies.

Hopefully the relationship with the next paramour will have a happier ending.